However, prior to beginning his MMA career, Brooks says he was
living with indecision about what he would do with his life. A
former high school football player and wrestler, Brooks says he was
lost without an avenue for his competitive nature.

“All I’ve ever known is how to compete, and for a little bit, that
was taken from me,” Brooks recently told Sherdog.com. “I was
watching a
UFC rerun on Spike, and they were showing Matt Hughes
and Georges St.
Pierre. I remember somebody saying how wrestlers can transition
into this sport.”

Brooks, who had previously trained in MMA “off and on” while
competing as an amateur, decided to commit himself to maximizing
his potential as a mixed martial artist. In two years, the
26-year-old racked up an 8-0 professional record, recently signing
with veteran manager Monte Cox and joining the vaunted American Top
Team.

Shortly after inking a deal with Cox, Brooks booked his first fight
on a major stage, taking on former Sengoku champion Satoru
Kitaoka at Dream 18
on New Year’s Eve. Brooks put forth a masterful performance,
continually cracking the Japanese talent with straight shots while
slipping under Kitaoka’s looping power punches. Still, Kitaoka
managed to grab a heel hook in the second round and held on for all
he was worth. Unable to finish the technique, the ex-Sengoku king
ate a multitude of heel kicks to the face before finally releasing
the hold, at which point Brooks finished the game competitor with a
controlled flurry of ground-and-pound.

Though Brooks says he was “very happy” with his performance, “Ill
Will” nevertheless noticed small mistakes in his effort that
required correcting.

“[I wanted to improve on] my striking a little bit. I could have
opened up a little more earlier in the fight,” said Brooks. “Even
allowing him to get into a position where he could leg lock me
[made me] a little disappointed in myself, because I knew exactly
what I needed to do to defend. I’m always critiquing my
[performances], because I want the best out of myself.

“Overall, I felt like I went in there and stuck to the game plan
that my coaches put together,” Brooks continued. “I did exactly
what I wanted to do, which was make sure that I was a dominating
presence and let people know that I was coming in there to win. It
put me in a position when I came back home to get this opportunity
with
Bellator. I’m just excited about where this whole thing is
going, and I’m really happy with where my career is right now.”

In a matter of hours, Brooks will square off with veteran Ricardo
Tirloni in the Season 8
lightweight quarterfinals, locking horns with the Brazilian at
the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant, Mich. In
Tirloni, Brooks faces a resilient foe who has already competed in
two Bellator tournaments, recently falling via split decision to
Dave
Jansen in the Season 7 semis.

“I know he’s a really tough opponent, and he’s not just going to
lie down and let you walk all over him. I like that, and I want
that type of fight,” said Brooks. “I want to see how I hold up to
going back-to-back fights against guys who are tough opponents.
That’s the only way that you find out if you’re really ready for
this. I think this is really my time to test my character as a
person and as a fighter.”

Though it is likely that Brooks’ fight will be seen by more than
half a million viewers on Spike TV, the lightweight is only
concerned with what transpires inside the cage. Though “Ill Will”
is excited to participate in what he expects will be sustained
growth from the Viacom-owned Bellator, the fighter is nonetheless
solely focused on Tirloni at the moment.

“At the end of the day, if you’re [fighting] in somebody’s backyard
with nobody watching at all, you’ve still got to go out there and
compete and win. Being on Spike, I’ve still got to go and take care
of my business,” said Brooks. “Bellator is going to go on without
me, whether I win or I lose, so I don’t have time to think about
all these people watching and Bellator doing this or that. My job
is to come in and compete, and that’s what I’m about to do. I’ve
been competing my entire life, and I don’t worry about who or how
many people are watching. The viewers don’t win the fight for me. I
have to go in there and win.”